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Peer to Peer Money Transfer Firms

Peer to peer currency exchange relate to companies that allow clients to send money directly between two marketplace participants (each using a different currency) in a decentralized way. The term is derived from the world of computing, where a P2P application refers to a program running on two or more terminals, where each peer has equal privileges.

How Does P2P Work?

Example. All Buy / Sell Orders Relate to GBP Trades.

The concept is quite easy and simple to understand. Whereas in a standard money transfer with traditional companies like UKForex, companies earn money by directly selling or buying a currency from you, with peer to peer you trade currencies with other marketplace participants (while the platform you use takes a small markup on top in order to benefit).

Which Companies are Included in that Definition?

There are very few firms that meet the criteria, even by their own definition.

Transferwise: The largest most recognizable firm which literally coined the term Peer to Peer transfers with its constant media coverage.

CurrencyFair: The second largest Peer to Peer currency firm. Sort of a combination between an eWallet (transfer currency and get it in your account without having to withdraw) and a currency firm.

MidPoint: We have failed to understand how MidPoint is any different from a traditional corporate-oriented FX firm, and why do they claim to be P2P.

MoneySwap:: Have a currency exchange marketplace on their platform.

… We chose to focus on Transferwise and CurrencyFair. We will review the other smaller firms (MidPoint and MoneySwap) when time permits.

Similarities:

CurrencyFair and Transferwise are two somewhat similar companies. They are quite recently established (2010 and 2011). They are both quite heavily backed by investors (Transferwise to a larger degree, by having Sir Richard Branson on board). They are both interesting, new and exciting, and thus, are currently getting a ton of coverage on mainstream media. In addition, both companies constantly receive positive online reviews from clients.

What differentiates between Currencyfair and Transferwise?

Global Reach: Transferwise is winning this category hands down. While Currencyfair only deals with UK, EU and Australian clients, Transferwise is also available to North American clients. While Currencyfair deals with only the major currencies, Transferwise is starting to expand into new currencies and addresses remittances transfers and not only intra-European transfers.

Fee Structure: With Currencyfair you can achieve better rates because there’s an actual rate marketplace. If the transfer is made through the marketplace Currencyfair charges only 0.15% on top of the agreed rate as a fee. With Transferwise, you will pay a fixed 0.5% spread on major currencies and up to 1.5% on exotic currencies.

On the other hand, Currencyfair has a fixed fee per transfer of 3 Euros minimum, and up to USD 40 per transfer, and it is not likely you will find a match for you transfer on the Peer to Peer marketplace. So we believe the average cheaper overall transfer will be made with Transferwise.

Rate Fixing: With Transferwise, you can fix the currency rate as soon as you’ve signed up and been verified. When you make a currency exchange request, you can click on the lock icon which will verify the rate will not fluctuate by the time you fund it. CurrencyFair do not have this option.

Keep Funds in Account: With Currencyfair, you can keep any amount of money, in any currency (As long as it is supported by them), in your online account. With Transferwise, you can’t.

Our Verdict: Transferwise, in our opinion, is a better option than Currencyfair for almost everyone because it’s a bigger company, and thus, in our opinion, more reputable. At the end of the day this is a very determining factor when it comes to international money transfers. In addition to that, Currencyfair’s markup as slightly higher when not using the “P2P marketplace matching” (which is only normally used by experts, and isn’t likely to have enough liquidity to find a match for most transfers). In addition to that, Currencyfair levies high fees on exotic currencies.

Cons of Peer to Peer Companies:

Newer companies which are venture-backed, while traditional FX firms like Moneycorp have gained their reputation over the past 30 years.

Not complete transparency with pricing. For instance with Transferwise, unless you lock in the rate, it can fluctuate by the time you fund your transfer. This is quite different from traditional FX, which firms the price is locked to the date of the agreement. Another example is fund withdrawal fees with Currencyfair.

Fixed fees on transfers, while some companies don’t charge any fees on transfers. An example of that is Currencies Direct, which have a 0 fee policy regardless of transfer size or location.

Exchange rate, being non-negotiable, can end up higher than the one you can reach with other firms through negotiation. For some currencies, especially exotic ones, the default exchange rate spreads offered by Transferwise are not better than ones offered by traditional firms.

The P2P payment system isn’t build for B2B like the platforms offered by FX firms. There are no additional functionalities built into the system like multi-payments, regular transfers, and rate watch (which is offered with firms like Currencies Direct).

If you decide to wait for the best price in CurrencyFair market you have to be an expert, because if you don’t forecast the exchange rate fluctuations, you may end up losing money in the process (instead of saving money by lowering fees).

Our Verdict

(Transferwise vs World First, in this case, as we have already said we believe that Transferwise is a better option than Currencyfair)

World First is more diverse for sure than Transferwise. Transferwise is about moving remittances from point A to B with little hassle and great rates. World First is the whole package. You can top notch guidance from a dedicated dealer, and can find a solution made for your specific needs. We believe that for transfers of £10,000 and up, World First is a better choice.

Is P2P Foreign Exchange a Hype

We believe it is.

Don’t get us wrong, as Transferwise and Currencyfair are great options for low-fee high-saving international transfers, and can definitely help clients save money not only compared to banks but also in comparison with other firms. Still, they bring little promise with them.

In fact, Transferwise doesn’t even brand itself as a P2P firm anymore (whereas their early campaigns really capitalized on that), and we strongly believe it’s because the vast majority of their transfers match against the company and not via the marketplace. The profit margins are set at 0.5%, so what’s the point of having a marketplace?

With Currencyfair, the situation is a tad different. In practice, we assume that most of their transfers are indeed matched against the company itself (offering a 0.4-0.5% spread), because waiting for liquidity for a certain currency pair is something that takes time and expertise. It requires of you to assume where currency prices are heading, and assuming the current market liquidity/offering, to build yourself the best deals for your requirements. So we do think Currencyfair deserves the P2P title, but we are not sure their marketplace functionality is relevant for the vast majority of our readers.

The whole idea of exchanging between currencies in real time seems a little suspicious to us. Besides very liquid currency pairs like the GBPEUR, a platform will require a LOT more activity to be able to handle something like that. In fact, this is how FX companies operate on the back-office. Additionally, they try to predict the demand for certain currency in certain times, they try predict the exchange rate trending, and build their trading and hedging strategy based on these statistics.

So, to summarize, if “P2P” stands for person to person payments, then all FX firms match the definition. If the term “P2P” relates to trading two currencies on both Buy/ Sell and trying to match each Buy Order with a Sell Order, then still, nothing makes Transferwise more Peer to Peer’ish than its competitors like World First, which also engages in the same activity to maintain high profit margins.

Still, Transferwise and Currencyfair bring a few unique things to the table that might make them the best companies for currency transfer for particular audiences. They apply for small or medium transfers with their fixed rates, because they are essentially offering the best fixed rates (and no need to haggle for them). They are also attractive for experts (CurrencyFair that is), who have large reserve of FX and want to trade them at the absolute best price (and are willing to wait and risk depreciation in currency value). So in order to understand which ones is better – Transferwise VS Currencyfair or Transferwise vs World First, you have to know what your goals are.

28 comments

Dan

I’ve tried both services to remit money from GBP to USD and stumbled on this site searching for cheaper and better ones. Of the two, transferwise is better. They are upfront with their .5% fee which is the only fee I have seen. In the case of CurrencyFair, they charge charge a small upfront fee of $4 However they only do wire transfers to the bank and pass along a transfer fee. The major US banks will pass on this fee $12-15 per transaction.

However I do like the marketplace functionality in CurrencyFair which allows you to set a price you are willing to exchange.

Hi Dan, absolutely correct observations! Transferwise are the most sincere and upfront with their fees out of all companies tested on this website, while Currencyfair’s market functionality can potentially get you the best rate, even above mid-market if there’s a willing buyer or seller. Both are good options. If you are specifically looking for a Peer to Peer functionality you should go Currencyfair, but if not, just sign up with both and see which platform you find more comfortable! We have referred some hundreds of clients to both companies and so far there seem to be no complaints! People are able to sign up quickly, and move their money effectively.

Other provides such as Midpoint and Kantox should also be mentioned. Should you make this a decision purely based on pricing, one should note that different providers can give you a better rate, depending on how much you transfer into another currency. Transferwise makes sense below the GBP2000 line, above, you might find other providers to be give better rates. North of GBP10,000 you might find that {other companies} provides attractive rates.

I have been using CurencyFair from there inception back in 2010. On most occasions I can equal if not better the inter-bank rate quoted on XE Currency Converter when exchanging euros to GBP. When you use the marketplace exchange what you see on the screen is what you get. The current fee for transferring money out of currencyfair is 3 euros, peanuts when compared with what I have saved over traditional exchange companies. However in Jan 2016 Currencyfair changed there receiving bank and what used to be a quick one day turnaround from depositing/exchanging funds/transferring back into my account has now become a painful 3 day turnaround if you are lucky. Currencyfair had a great business model that worked, but for whatever reason have ruined it to the point I will now give ‘Transferwise’ a go.

I think he is talking about Currencyfair having offshore USD and CAD accounts based in Ireland. Therefore anyone wanting to transfer to the US or Canada get hit with an international receiving fee and long delays.

Not their fault and the same goes for most foreign exchange based out of the UK don’t have international offices. They offer great services within UK and Europe but when sending abroad they customers get hit with high receiving fees.

There are only a few players able to onboard clients from the US and offer domestic payouts and receivables e.g. USForex, WorldFirst, HiFX, and Transferwise. Though Transferwise is limited to a few states similar to Currencies Direct as they haven’t got all the licenses yet.

Thank you Pat. Indeed, some companies don’t have local bank accounts in the US/ Canada, and thus transfers get delayed. You have compiled a great list of truly international companies with worldwide offices and worldwide bank accounts, I would also add Moneycorp which has offices in Florida.

I have a quick question concerning transferring funds between 2 separate accounts: which companies use the “temporary transitional virtual vault” system? (I.E: funds go from my bank account to my “virtual vault” and then to the person I want to transfer the funds to). The reason for my question is that it’s not safe to write one’s bank account number and password on any website, except on one’s bank website. Using the “vault” system, I don’t have to share my bank account number and password with any website…I only have to display the bank account number of the person to whom I’m sending the money. Do you know the companies that use this “virtual vault” system?

Hello George, thank you for your inquiry. Very good question indeed. You are absolutely correct that sharing your bank account number and password is highly unsafe, whether it’s online or via telephone. If you have been in contact with a company that requires anything along these lines, it is in all probabilities a SCAM. Giving any company direct access to your account is ill-advised.

All the companies that are recommended on this website use a system similar to what you referred to as a “virtual vault”. They have segregated client accounts domestically across the globe. When you make a payment through them, you send funds there, and they exchange it to the currency you need and wire it abroad. Have a look at our homepage to find the best picks – click here.

I would to know if any of these companies offers the service of international transfers in the same currency. It means I would like to transfer US$ from US to Spain but I would like that the person in Spain receives the money also in US$. I hope someone can help me.

Hi Fernando. No, they do not offer that service. You have no alternative but your bank. If you are paying an unbelievable amount you can try to send US to Euro, and then re-exchange the Euro for Dollars with either of these companies, but I wouldn’t recommend that.

Hello, I always refer small values with the transfwise. I like very much. But I have to transfer more than $20000 from the USA to Europe. And currenciesdirect and halofinancial are offering better values. The gentlemen would have anything to say about them? Thank you

Companies like Hifx, currenciesdirect,transferwise etc have been attempting to provide a viable solution/alternative to traditional methods of simply changing one’s funds. If an email cost 10p the volume of traffic would disappear overnight. Transparency of cost,immediate delivery and exemplary service are surely the qualities that’d acquire and retain customers.

Could you guys please help me out to clarify my doubts here. I would just like to understand more about this TransferWise and its P2P model.

I’m just trying to understand what is so different about TransferWise (that claims to operate on a “Peer-to-Peer” model), against traditional money transfer service providers like Banks/Remittance Companies (that operates on a “correspondent banking/agent” model), and how TransferWise can keep fees lower than those Banks/Remittance Companies (such as MoneyGram / Western Union).

I was searching for better money transfer alternatives and came to learn about TransferWise. I’m currently using my local bank in Singapore to do money transfers. I’m really amazed by how TransferWise is able to charge only a 0.5% fee, which is much lower than some of the bank’s that charge various fees such as cable fees/commission/correspondent agent fee etc.

However, i have not tried out TransferWise yet and was learning more about what makes it so special compared to traditional Banks/Remittance Companies like MoneyGram or Western Union. I assume TW is able to charge much lower fees because they claim to transfer money by doing “local transfers”, and not “international transfers” that is done by Banks/Remittance Companies.

Though they didn’t elaborate further how the “Peer-to-Peer model” works in detail, but i assume that this means they are controlling the entire money transfer process, from originating the money (i.e. from Singapore) to transferring the money (i.e. to Australia).

So when i want to transfer money from Singapore to Australia, TW would take in my SGD and put it into its Singapore bank account (TW Singapore), and use its Australia bank account (TW Australia) to payout the money to my australian bank account. So in this case, they don’t rely on correspondent agents/banks in different countries like MoneyGram or Western Union does, and that is how they keep fees low.

So here’s my question, for MoneyGram/ Western Union that uses the correspondent banking/agent model, although they rely on many ‘correspondent agents’ in different countries, but aren’t they also considered as a “Peer-to-Peer” model? I say this because, for example, if i send money using Western Union, the Western Union Singapore would take my SGD, and then they would contact its correspondent Western Union Australia agent to payout the AUD to my beneficiary account in Australia. So in this Western Union case, money never crosses the border as well, hence, isn’t this the same as TransferWise, which is also considered as “local transfers”??

AND, isn’t Western Union also considered to be using a “Peer-to-Peer” model too?? I say this because, if a person (i.e. Husband) in Australia wants to send money to someone else (i.e. his Wife) in Singapore, then the Western Union Singapore agent would just use my SGD which i previously deposited in their account, to pay it to the wife in Singapore. So what’s different about this “P2P” compared with the traditional “correspondent agent/banking” model?

Are they all actually the same, just that their’ using different jargons.

Hi Dell! You hit the nail right in the head. I don’t know if you read the rather long article here, but this is what we essentially say. “Peer to Peer” is a very vague term. Transferwise don’t even use it in their commercials anymore and I guess this is the reason – there’s nothing much behind it. The other company covered in this page, Currencyfair, has a genuine Peer to Peer marketplace which essentially means that if you find someone to buy the currency you need to offload through the system, and pay you with the currency you require – you will get a really tiny markup. That’s some ingenuity right there, whereas Transferwise don’t stuck us as innovative in that aspect.

You’re absolutely correct about the system of payment in which the money never crosses borders. Read our “send money abroad” to view some illustrations of that. Essentially, as you said, the money is being paid domestically, and is paid to the other party also locally via a local office/correspondent. That’s how most money transfer companies operate. The question is how many local offices one company has, and how many local bank accounts. It is not an easy thing to set up. This is why we always recommend sticking with the best known companies with the most worldwide offices.

As for your other question – howcome Transferwise is so cheap. They claim to have propitiatory technology to handle transfers and automatically match them (so they don’t have to buy/sell currencies constantly), which is one thing. They have Richard Branson as a backer is another thing (meaning, they don’t have to be profitable anytime soon). I am sure that consider their ultra-low prices in some corridors they can’t be making any money, and the purpose is to attract clientele and get a name for themselves. We have an ultra comprehensive review of TW on our site.

Who cares if its P2P or mid-market rate? The point is I’ve saved thousands of pounds over the years using currencyfair’s laughably simple interface. I have used the Auto-Transaction (money exchanged immediately it hits the account), best rate available and choose your own rate (to some degree of success). It amazes me that people still rely on high street bank rates when exchanging anything over 100 pounds. My only gripe would be the speed at which transfers happen, money transfered directly from my bank Saturday still has not hit my account close of business Tuesday. More often than not I will get emails around midnight saying my funds are ready for transfer. This is ridiculous.

I came across a website http://www.mayfairfx.com for money transfer and I was looking for more information to confirm if they are authentic or not until I stumbled upon your site !

Please I noticed no reviews so far on MayfairFX , could you please help confirm if this firm is genuine and they are ready in business , I am really sckeptical as I have searched many site for reviews about them but I can’t find any

CurrencyFair P2P users may be interested to learn that CurrencyFair has recently moved further away from being a true P2P and more of a traditional FX broker with spreads of pretty much 0.50-0.60% now, when in my experience as a very regular user this used to be no more than 0.15-0.25%.

This is the reply I received from CurrencyFair upon enquiring what had changed:

I can confirm we have increased our pricing on the back of a recent business review. The decision was based on a recent business review and competitor analysis in relation to exchange margins. This change only impacted a small number of exchanges which take place at the higher end of our market, ie. those close to or above the interbank rate. There should be next to no impact on the average exchange and we are still confident that we are the most competitive on the market.

How does CurrencyFair determine its exchange rates? CurrencyFair is a Marketplace, so our users set our exchange rates. CurrencyFair charges 0.25-0.3% of the total amount exchanged when customers match each other. This fee is included in the rate you see.

In the event that there are no customers providing a competitive rate for your exchange, CurrencyFair will step in and match you. This results in a charge around 0.4% to 0.6% of the amount exchanged. Again, this fee is included in the rate you see.

Depending on which way you’re exchanging, and the activity on the Marketplace at that time, you’ll pay anywhere from 0.1% to 0.6%, plus a fixed transfer fee. Click here to see our transfer fees

On average, customers at the moment pay around 0.4% of the amount they exchange, however as more and more people use CurrencyFair, this average rate will decrease.

Hi Cedric thank you for your feedback. MoneyTransferComparison.com is not a “rate comparison site” per se. IF you prefer to use a company which is considered small in this industry for a 350k dollar trade go ahead and use them. We would rather recommend other firms (OFX and Transferwise from your list) based on sheer reputation and credibility. As you can see for yourself the difference is a couple hundred Euros one way or the other, and we learned most people would rather deal with a company they feel is safer and secure. Secondly, you can’t compare OFX with the rest. OFX has dedicated dealers, a completely different service which is costlier to run. Also, with OFX you may be able to negotiate your fees down and get a better quote. Most importantly it is difficult to compare especially when the differences are so minor. Each time the clock ticks, the rate changes – 2 pips down, 5 pips up – you miss out the timing by a few minutes and the quote could be relating to a different interbank rate. There are a tonne of comparison sites out there which are fixated on the price. We ain’t.

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